Worldwide variations in the prevalence of symptoms of atopic eczema in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood

Hywel Williams, PhD, Colin Robertson, FRACP, Alistair Stewart, BSc, Nadia Ait-Khaled, MD, Gabriel Anabwani, MMed, Ross Anderson, MD, Innes Asher, MBChB, Richard Beasley, DM, Bengt Björkstén, PhD, Michael Burr, MD, Tadd Clayton, MSc, Julian Crane, FRACP, Philippa Ellwood, DPH, Ulrich Keil, MD, Chris Lai, DM, Javier Mallol, MD, Fernando Martinez, MD, Edwin Mitchell, FRACP, Stephen Montefort, MD, Neil Pearce, PhD, Jayant Shah, FRCP, Bonnie Sibbald, PhD, David Strachan, MD, Erika von Mutius, MD, and Stephan K.Weiland, MD

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of atopic eczema outside Northern Europe.

Objectives: We sought to describe the magnitude and variation in the prevalence of atopic eczema symptoms throughout the world.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on random samples of schoolchildren aged 6 to 7 years and 13 to 14 years from centers in 56

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